


Roots

by yeaka



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Kid Fic, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 15:14:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21304163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeaka/pseuds/yeaka
Summary: Balin finds someone spying on Bilbo.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Roots

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, or any of their contents, and I’m not making any money off this.

He arrives late in the evening, because it’s a dreadfully long way from Bree to Hobbiton, and Balin didn’t want to waste another night on idle rest. He was old when their first big journey started, and now he’s older still, but he’s not yet too decrepit for a brisk trot through the countryside. The Shire is, at least, quite a pleasant place to be. Balin is sure to enjoy it while he can. It’s nice to be in the open air, amongst all the lovely gardens, and around people his own height. He doesn’t get _too_ many stares. He doesn’t get any at all by the time he’s finally wandering up the path to Bag End, because every civilized hobbit seems to be asleep.

Bilbo won’t. He should be up and waiting, maybe even with tea ready on the stove. Balin’s looking quite forward to it. He pushes through the nicely painted wooden gate he entered so many years before, then stops short of walking up the steps. 

There’s a tiny creature already plastered to one of Bilbo’s quaint round windows. The boy is lifting up on the tips of his toes, peering desperately inside, fingers spread across the glass. His sandy curls remind Balin of Bilbo when he was younger, though this is clearly a child, and Bilbo was a young man when they first met. Balin wanders up behind the boy and greets, “Hello.”

The child startles. He squawks, whirling around, looking up at Balin with big eyes and awe across his plump cheeks. Then he blushes and stammers, “Begging your pardon, Sir! I didn’t, that is—I know it’s not right for a proper hobbit to go looking in windows, only old Bilbo has those interesting friends of his, and, oh—you’re not going to tell my old gaffer, are you?”

Balin hasn’t the faintest idea who the boy’s gaffer is. He chuckles and promises, “Goodness, no. That is, so long as you weren’t meaning my friend here any harm. I don’t suppose you’re a friend of Bilbo’s boy, are you?”

“Frodo?” the hobbit provides. Balin only just met Frodo on his last visit, and he found the boy to be incredibly adorable. He had all the naughty wonderment of Bilbo, with even wilder hair and a love for song—Bilbo even let him stay up late to sing around the fire with them. This new hobbit looks around the same age, perhaps a little shorter but wider around the middle. He mumbles, “Um, yes... well, no... but I help my old gaffer with the garden sometimes...”

“Bag End’s garden?” Balin asks, glancing around. “Why, it looks like you’ve done a splendid job.”

A wide smile splits through the boy’s nerves, and he chirps, “Thanks, Mister.”

“Balin,” Balin provides, thrusting out a meaty hand. “And who might you be, young master?”

“Samwise Gamgee,” the boy proudly answers, taking Balin’s hand. 

“And you’re curious about Bilbo’s friends, just like Frodo, Samwise?”

Samwise stuffs his hands into his pockets, lightly kicks the earth, and sheepishly nods. Balin’s sure he’s been told to say otherwise, because it seems _proper_ hobbits don’t hang out with dwarves, but the really fun ones do. Bilbo must be spreading that acceptance, because Frodo’s much quicker to embrace their culture than Bilbo was at even twice his age.

Balin tells his new friend, “Well, then, why don’t you come in with me. We can have a spot of tea and warm you up.”

Samwise’s mouth topples open again. He gasps, “Really?”

Balin nods and offers his hand a second time. Samwise seems a tad more hesitant to take it. But he does, and Balin brings him inside, where Frodo rushes up to greet them both with a colossal hug. Then Bilbo’s following, and the four of them sit down to enjoy some biscuits and tell the little ones what it’s really like to see a dragon.


End file.
